Dreams and Preparations
by seashell118
Summary: The Cullens figure out a way to make sure the rest of the world is prepared for future transformations-- by giving a dream to an unsuspecting woman.


It was years since the Volturi's last visit. Much had changed, and yet, much had stayed the same. I was fully grown; I had reached peak maturity a few years back. The Quileute promise bracelet had been exchanged for an engagement ring, courtesy of my resident soul mate. Nahuel and Huilen visited every so often. They had moved back to South America, preferring being able to roam freely to having a claustrophobic existence in Forks. My parents' happily ever after was continuing smoothly; all of us Cullens were untroubled by the humans. Carlisle was still working at the hospital, and the "children" of sorts were all pretending to be at college, while actually spending their time between our new wolf friends and hunting discreetly in the cloudy shade. I was still unknown to most of the world, besides Grampa Charlie and Gramma Sue and the rest of Jacob's wolf-people.

However, Carlisle was obsessed with Bella's incredibly smooth transition into the vampire world.

"Incredible," he murmured for days on end when she surprised him, time and time again, by abstaining from human blood.

"It has to be a case of mind over matter," Carlisle said one day, beginning the conversation for the four hundredth and sixty second time. I counted.

Bella, she had never become "mom" to me, rolled her eyes, as she always did when this conversation arose. She knew she was in for the same questions she had answered over and over. Still, she did not look up from the book she was reading.

Unfortunately, Edward was as absorbed as Carlisle was.

"Definitely," he agreed solemnly as Jasper walked out of the room, Alice shadowing him. He never did like this debate. It made him feel weak.

"If there was just some way to get other humans to learn about our ways without learning about us," Carlisle muttered to himself. "If there was a time where we would need to make another transformation—."

"Then maybe their newborn stage would be as easy as Bella's," Edward finished for him, nodding. "I know. But the Volturi would never allow it."

A shiver passed over my spine as I heard the name. Ever since my meeting with Aro and the others, the Volturi had always instilled a sense of unease in me. Jacob brushed my cheek soothingly. Bella made a face, having seen his action in the corner of her eye. I grinned at her, and she cracked a smile without lifting her head from her reading.

Edward saw our exchange and sighed. "Bella, are you reading _Wuthering Heights_ again?"

Bella sniffed loudly, looking up to meet his gaze. "Yes. What's it to you?"

Edward shook his head theatrically, pretending to be ashamed. "You must have it memorized by now."

"As a matter of fact, I do," she said, grinning. "I'm just testing my memory."

Carlisle watched this banter with increasing curiosity. Suddenly, an idea brightened his eyes.

"That's it," he breathed, his tawny gaze far away.

"Carlisle?" Edward asked, worried.

"That's how we'll do it. A book." He turned to Edward. "A book about vampires—that's nothing out of the ordinary. And yet whoever reads it will be prepared if they are ever changed."

Edward cocked his head to the side. "It _could_ work," he said slowly, choosing each word carefully. "But what would the Volturi think? They would just use it as another excuse to come after us."

I shivered more violently than before. Jacob put his scorching hand against my neck, easing my anxiety instantly.

"Not if it's a work of fiction. Not if no one actually _suspects_ that we exist." Carlisle's eyes were bright, excited; I had never seen him like this before.

I stared out the window at the darkening gloom as they debated the idea back and forth. It didn't matter what they picked. Either way, no one would ever know I existed. I was a mutant, a freak, neither vampire nor human. I was stick in my own personal limbo forever.

Jacob caught onto my glum mood instantly, of course. He was so in tune with me, however, that he didn't press me. His mind was so linked with mine, and vice versa, that we could easily tell what the other was thinking. I knew that he would know I didn't want to talk about it, not yet.

Edward, of course, must have heard what I was thinking. But I think he was too preoccupied with this new idea that he was vastly growing excited about to notice.

"All, right, it's settled then," Carlisle announced, glowing. Esme came in from the kitchen to sit by him on the pristine, white couch. Rosalie and Emmet were in Alaska, visiting Tanya and her family, and Jasper and Alice were still out. Everyone home was sitting in the room.

"You realize that the Volturi will come after us if we write a book about ourselves, right? Even if we claim it is a work of fiction?" I asked Edward.

"That certainly is a prob—oh." He turned to Carlisle, who looked like he might have been blushing, if that were possible. "That's an idea."

"What?" Bella demanded. She grew more frustrated than the rest of us that my father could hear everyone's thoughts.

Edward turned to me. "Nessie, if we go through this idea, we'll need your help."

I nodded, though I was completely lost. "Okay."

"What does she have to do?" Jacob asked anxiously.

"I assure you, it's nothing dangerous," Edward soothed him. Bella had that sour look on her face again; she hated it when Jacob spoke the words she wanted to say.

"Think about it," Carlisle said. "With your talent, Nessie, it will be relatively simple."

"What do I have to do with anything?"

"If you could put a picture in someone's mind while they were sleeping, it would be processed in their brain as a dream." I nodded. This was a theory we tested on Jacob, the only willing one who had the ability to sleep.

"What if," he went on, "What if you gave a writer a dream about us?"

"That could work," I said, catching on. "And then they would write about the dream, right? And sell it as a book?"

"Well, it's a definite possibility. We should try it on someone unsuspecting, see if they distort the dream into something completely wrong before we give it to a writer."

"Where will we go? If someone in Forks has the dream, it will be too obvious," Esme pointed out.

"Phoenix, of course," Bella said, speaking for the first time in a while. Edward rolled his eyes, but she went on. "Really, it could work! No one will be suspecting a dream about vampires who can't go out during the day in the Valley of the Sun."

"So, what picture do you want me to give them?" I asked, running several images through my mind—watching my parents hunt, Bella smashing a boulder to pieces, Rosalie and Alice creating fake scrapbooks of my vastly accelerated life. Edward concentrated, and shook his head.

"No, I don't think those will work."

"Well, what will?" I asked.

"We'll ask Alice," Edward said, smiling. Just as he spoke, I heard my aunt's light footsteps as she ran gracefully towards the house. Barely a minute later, she danced inside.

"Hello, everyone," she trilled as she walked through the door with astounding grace. "I had a vision that you would need me. So, what's up?"

Edward and Carlisle filled her in on the plan as Alice sat down, crossing her legs, at Bella's feet. She nodded a lot and agreed at the end that it would work.

"We just need an idea of what to put in the dream," Edward explained.

"Well, that's simple. We'll use Bella, of course." Alice said this as it was astoundingly obvious. Edward straightened up automatically, extending his hand over my mother protectively.

"Oh, will you calm down Mr. Macho? I'm saying that we'll use Bella's life as the dream. She is how we got on this subject, right?" Alice stared at our blank faces. "Really, people. It will be easy. Nessie will give the dream about Bella and Edward's love story, which will lead to her transformation."

Bella frowned.

"Isn't there some other way?" She complained. I know she hated to be the center of attention.

"Sorry, Bella," Alice said, twisting her neck to beam at her. "You're going to have to put up with it." She turned to me. "Give your mother a better sense of fashion in this dream, please." Bella kicked my aunt, who responded by laughing lightly.

"Actually, that's a good idea," said Edward slowly. "It's a fine idea for a book. People would read that."

Night was falling by now; I yawned loudly.

"I'll take her home," Jacob promised everyone, lifting me up. I really was tired. My last image was my mother staring at the pair of us anxiously while the rest of them hammered out the details. She never really did get over me growing up so fast.

Jacob dropped me off at the cottage, kissing me lightly on the forehead before I let myself inside. It wasn't anything serious, but still enough to make my head spin and make my whole body quiver. He didn't ask to come inside. He knew how tired I felt.

I crawled into my bed that night, wondering how my life would change with this new plan.

I woke up to a flurry of excitement; while I had slept, plans were being made. It didn't usually bother me that I was the only one, besides Jacob, who slept; I liked being able to escape into my mind after a long day.

"So, what's the plan?" I asked, yawning, as I walked into the front room of the cottage. Bella and Edward were sitting at the fire, holding hands, and talking softly. They looked up as I spoke.

"We're leaving for Phoenix tonight. We'll go to Bella's old neighborhood. She wants to check on Renée."

I nodded, understanding Bella's light frown. Her mother hadn't seen her since she got married, though Bella checked up on her often. She called, of course, but there were those rare nights where she would hop on a plane and make sure that everything was all right. Bella was pretending to live in England with Edward, where plane tickets were just much too expensive for her mother to visit.

When we went up to the main house, everyone was buzzing with excitement. Rosalie and Emmet sent their agreement and their love from Alaska (well, Rosalie sent her love. Emmet asked whether Bella was up for another arm wrestling match), and the plane tickets had been purchased for just after sundown.

I spent the day with my parents in the cloud covered yard, working on the picture in my mind. We had decided to use the first time my parents admitted their love in the meadow as the scene for the dream. I hadn't existed yet, so I spent a while imagining the details that Edward remembered flawlessly. He coached me and gave me instructions as, over and over again, I pressed my palm against his, showing him what the picture looked like. Finally, he was satisfied.

We hunted before going out; being around humans always had its risks, even for me. Jacob was coming too, and we took down a pack of elk together. They smelled nearly as revolting as the human food Esme stocked the fridge with for our wolf guests. Nearly.

And then, sooner than I thought, we were at the airport, going through security (how ironic that they let several vampires and a wolf-man through), and then we were on the plane. I sat in between Jacob and Alice, my parents and Carlisle sat in the three seats across from us. Jasper stayed home, not willing to risk it, and Esme opted to stay with him.

We landed in Phoenix in the early hours of the morning. We stayed at a hotel for the rest of the night. Jacob and I slept; the others spent time together, doing whatever it is that they do while we reach unconsciousness.

It was sunny, naturally, in the morning, so Jake and I went out while the others stayed in.

"You don't have to do this, you know," he reminded me for the third time as we ate lunch. It was human food, absolutely disgusting, but it would have to do.

"I know, but I want to," I assured him. And it was true. If I could help additions to my family easier, then I would do my part.

Finally, night fell at last.

"Come on," Bella said impatiently, pulling on my hand. She had convinced Edward, after many hours of arguing, to stay behind. She took me to her home alone.

Bella stopped by the house when we reached it, gazing discreetly into the window. I could smell Renée and Phil inside. I stood at the window with her, invisible to the inside.

My grandparents were just eating dinner, spoon feeding each other, looking as happy as newlyweds, even after all this time. Bella's raptured expression clued me in: she was going to be a while.

"I'm going to go on, "I told her. She nodded absentmindedly, her full attention on her estranged mother.

I wandered around the neighborhood for a while, choosing the house that would be my mark. I saw a young woman taking out the trash while her two young sons played with her husband. A perfectly ordinary woman, the exact test target I wished to find.

I waited patiently until the woman went to sleep, Bella still several streets away. The neighbors couldn't see me; I was well hidden in the back of the house.

And then, there was silence, lights flicking out one by one. Sleep.

My own body was tired, but I stretched, yawning, and focused on my task. I flexed my fingers, preparing, and then started climbing up the brick house. It was easy for my delicate fingers to find a purchase that humans would find difficult.

The window was open, thankfully, and I heaved myself into the bedroom without a sound. It was the woman's room. She was on her side, next to her husband.

Silently and carefully, I bounded towards her, breathing heavily from anxiety. I only had one chance.

I pressed my palm against her skin, and I let the image flow.

The woman smiled in her sleep as the dream began to form. I concentrated with all my might on the scene, and, once that was done, I very carefully put a few flickers of my own creations in.

Edward leaving my mother alone in the woods, a story that Alice had told me because my parents never talked about it. Jacob picking up the pieces, a story that he told me. My wolf people, Jacob, Leah, Seth, Embry, Quil—even Sam and his pack. The rest of my family's faces flashing by. How Bella looked the first time I saw her: spattered with blood, broken, and weak. And then Bella as a vampire: strong, courageous, and a key player.

And then, even quicker than before, an image of myself. Maybe I was being selfish, but I didn't want to be forgotten.

Once it was done, I snuck out the window, gloating to myself.

Stephenie Meyer awoke the next morning. It was her sons' first day of swim lessons.

She had the most wonderful dream. She didn't want to forget it, so she began writing it down.

There was no need for another experiment; she provided the books the Cullens were after.

And now, we are all prepared.


End file.
